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Rapture Economy
Sitemap "The Laws of Economics are Much Like the Laws of Physics - If You Ignore them YOU are Writing Fantasy" Rapture's Economy * See Also Existing_Businesses * See Also Types_of_businesses_City_could_have * See Also Industry_In_Rapture * See Also Vending_Machines * See also Shops_and_Locations * See also Crash * See also Game Economy * See also Rapture Agriculture * See also Construction * See also Money In Rapture * See also Transportation_Stuff * See also Rapture Poverty * See also Raptures Food Supply * See Also Gambling . . . . See Also Rapture Society --- --- --- --- --- [[Money In Rapture|Money Money Money]] Made Rapture Go Round : Ryan was only something like 35 years old (born 1910 ?) when he started to build Rapture (around 1945-46). To do THAT then, he first had to have the Money (at least be in the $100s of millions in wealth category, even with other big investors involved). Likely, Ryan would have made his start in the late 1920s (with the opportunities of the 1930s being less, but possible), and with war work in the 1940s adding additional growth. Was he like Howard Hughes, who already had a family fortune/business to start him off (and a few years earlier)? Ryan's father may have accumulated some in "The Roaring 20s" while Andrew Ryan was still a teenager. To actually build anything like Rapture (even scaled down quite a bit from that ridiculous skyline-implied size), Ryan probably would have to have been IN the construction industry to get 'inside' (expense cutting) knowledge/resources/knowhow/confidence to do a project that big. He would have to convert/sell off much of his Surface industrial empire to get the funds needed - Something hard to cover up, and likely taking a sustained period of time (to recover the majority of its worth). The Post-War US expansion period would have been a good time to have that happen. Example - The Rockefeller Center building complex (6+ million sq ft) in NYC ate a huge chunk ($250 million in 1930 money) of that very wealthy family's assets (making it a big gamble in the Depression era). It is unlikely Ryan could quickly borrow any more than what his companies were worth, and investors complicate hiding creative bookkeeping. Thus having a slow sell off of his holdings, and possibly even growing his businesses in the boom of the late 40s/early 50s to pay for Rapture. The other big Rapture investors would probably do likewise. --- --- --- Paying the Cost - How was Rapture Even Paid For ? ''' : Ryanwas supposed to be VERY rich (multi-multi- millionaire in 1946 dollars), but its a bit much to pay for a city of 20000 people (estimate from the Novel) by himself. You are not likely to get a mortgage for it. SO to be practical, lets add in numerous other Very Rich people (and even the general inhabitants paying something from the liquidation of their Surface assets) to amass enough money (well into the billions). Some of those Rich people (who would be terrified of a likely Atomic War future) might even never come to Rapture, but paid in as 'insurance'. (This would also would mean that Ryan DIDN'T own the whole city). I suppose that later, with technical developments/advancements - ADAM in particular, to generate additional money through the selling of 'miracle' Medical Therapies to some VERY sick Rich people up on The Surface. (Reality is : That for most other technologies, even a few (in Rapture) '''major advancements simply don't/would not add up to significant profits, as compared-to/competing-with 100000X as many (potential) surface people customers and significant additional development resources). Rapture's Major construction was probably well over by that time, but things do wear out, and structural shortcomings can require significant repairs and replacement (which costs money and requires materials from the outside). So such potential incoming money would have its uses for sustaining Rapture. --- --- --- Realistic Economics - Not Exactly the BioShock Game Developers' Area of Expertise or Knowledge : Rapture : "By populating a city with ambitious experts, opportunists, geniuses, and breakthrough artists, Ryan set up a top-heavy class system. Some Rapture of these citizens felt that essential jobs such as food processing, cleaning, and simple maintenance were beneath them." Except that alot of these "essential jobs" are actually as said ESSENTIAL, and since they need to get done (they can only be 'neglected' so much), someone WILL do them for more sufficient money. It is part of the balancing systems under Capitalism. The 'Toilet Scrubber' will get paid more, and will attract someone to do it (as a job or to do a 'better' job), and since there is no slavery or bonded servitude (like in Infinite BS) -- In Rapture you cannot force people to do the work for low pay (( '' Except conveniently by criminals like Fontaine. What he was shown to get away with was far too contrived - rather than someone, after his tyranny/coercion, knife him or blow his head off with a shotgun '' )). In a technical place like Rapture, it may rather have been a case of Technology eliminating jobs (the Mechanical Toilet Scrubber (MTS), where one 'operator' now does the work of dozens of manual laborers). As mentioned in-game : When construction in Rapture largely ended, putting alot of the workers 'out of work' was what actually (the given story) lead to the earlier economic distress and market crash (which BTW, the city weathered). That kind of situation was nothing new in the Surface World they came from --- and remember THESE people were supposed to be the Go Getters, 'innovators', etc ... , more likely to be willing to Retrain and relearn and reapply themselves to NEW jobs and opportunities. Instead they (the writers) make believe Rapture is filled with parasite dross ready to leap at "Free" Handouts and to protest not being allowed to be Parasites, and them buying into the Socialism that the people in Rapture were supposedly there to get away from. The majority of the people (the ones who agreed with and supported Ryan and his philosophy) are strangely never heard from (in-game). We actually are just hearing the whinings of a small minority, played up as if they were the majority. But then you need an 'Atlas' for the plot so, presto-chango, he becomes some great rebel leader vying with Ryan for power and able to inspire ridiculously stupid treason and betrayal when he really would have been ignored or stepped upon by the populace. I've said it before : All of what we get in the game is to facilitate Rapture being a contrived Fail-topia - as a setting for (Shooter Game type) Mass Slaughter by the Player - a shoot-em-up game with cardboard-cut-out 'enemies'. And when it comes to a realistic economy interfering with 'the plot', logic/reason/reality are not to intrude OR be of any priority. --- --- --- You Just Cannot Produce Certain Materials in Rapture : Stuff brought from The Surface would include things various people needed and just couldn't get from the Ocean. A toolmaker would bring his own supply of tool materials - a whole stockpile of them - knowing that replacement materials would likely be non-existent, inferior or horribly expensive. Some materials are not that hard to come by. Organics are often the base materials for plastics. Materials like Carbon are used in numerous industrial processes and can be in the form of charcoal - made from heat purified organic matter. Some materials like copper/rubber are used in large amounts in the modern industrialized world, and even on The Surface the places producing copper/rubber are few and far between. SO again, many materials will simply have to be massively stockpiled - sufficient replacement for Rapture's lifetime (100 years?) Rubber can be made artificially, but at much greater expense and using materials that still have to be obtained specially (goes for most plastics as well). And some of the items made from those special materials you might as well have them built-up/created on The Surface where it can be done cheaper (so hard-to-make spare parts might as well also be stockpiled). Remember, alot of industrial processes used to produce the materials (and parts) is quite specialized, requiring skills that there just wouldn't be enough people in Rapture with for so many (it is not JUST the material, but all the tools required for those processes). Scale of Production also is a factor. Economy of scale on the Surface can be magnitudes more cost effective than a small scale shop operation in Rapture. --- --- --- Rapture Demographics (As Compared to a Typical US City) ' : No Welfare and Few charities. Thus Less bums (Ryan wouldn't let in too many people without skills or inclination to work, to start with). Few Leftists (Ryan has a revulsion to Parasites, and ''Foisterers of Parasitism, and Collectivists in general .,.. He has THEIR number.) More craftsmen, more Entrepreneurs - there won't be many big industries IN Rapture for narrow specialized mass-production skills (so less organized "Labor" adherents). Fewer Old people (productive people would be wanted, and the expectation/unknowns from Rapture's culture and the bother of picking up and moving would dissuade many). Rich old people looking to escape growing social poisons in the Surface World would be an exception. There would be MANY People who believe more in Individualism (rejectors of Socialism/Welfare State/Communism). Perhaps more Artists -- but maybe not as many as you might think ... Rapture Artists Don't Quit Your Day Job as most artist barely make a living from it (and Rapture has a limited population AND NO GOVERNMENT FUNDING OF 'artists'). In general there would be less a burden of non-earners. The Result could be a general higher standard of living (higher production equals more to buy). Similar things were happening in America during that era. Less Mass Production would mean higher general prices for non-consumables (but immigrants would be able to bring many possession with them when the came to Rapture). Population demographics would shift as Rapture-born children were added to the population. --- --- --- ' "Gone To Rapture" ' : How many of the original Rapture Investors died 1946-1958 (the 'normal' period of Raptures History)??? The MMORPG should explain in some background the Details of the process of Surface holdings/asset conversion/transfer (selloffs, material investment) while maintaining the security/secrecy and plausibility of their disappearance -- dealing with relatives left behind who WOULD WANT to know what was happening and why. Ryan's own companies would likely not have stockholders initially, but HOW do you sell-off (to Build Rapture) large amounts of what YOU own without too many complications/troublesome-investigations ??? Historical Note - Roughly 1/3 of The English '''Magna Carta (The Great Charter) dealt with Inheritance Law. SO similarly in the modern world you cannot just have rich people 'faking their own death' to go to Rapture unless they have already sold-off everything they own (and the checks clear). Paper trails need to be avoided ... And such a process realistically takes some time to be worked. --- --- --- ' "Gone To Rapture" TWO ' : People going to Rapture 'To Escape Surface World DEBTS' ('Gone to Texas' ....) Allowing people INTO Rapture who were 'Running from Debts' might be allowed with consideration of the source of those debts - like unjust IRS tax bills, or confiscations by Governments, etc... Running From Bankruptcy debts and liquidating Monies to BRING TO Rapture might be another mitigating circumstance. --- --- --- Cause For Raptures 'Decline' (Fall ?) ''' : Were essential jobs like food processing, cleaning, and maintenance not getting done because there were too many 'elites' ? Would this lead to recession ? The writer may want that idea, except that there were plenty of ordinary people there who escaped the Pending Doom in the Surface World (post-WW2 there were millions in devastated Europe who would leave simply to get to a better place). Those people (unlike many today) actually knew how to work and accepted it. Rapture's earlier economic downturn seems when the major city construction ceased, and a number of construction workers had to readjust and re-integrate into the economy (which they apparently largely did, as that was around 1952). So for THAT 'recession', things were able to get back to normal by the time the Kashmir Massacre (1958) and Fontaine actions to destabilize the city as 'Atlas'. The BIG economic distress ACTUALLY happened because of Fontaine using ADAM as a destructive tool to take over Rapture. His terrorist's chaos broke confidence in public safety, and the economy could not operate normally with murderous Splicers wandering the streets (Rapture had NOT been a police state, and Ryan's men were not really equipped to deal with ADAM-powered terrorists). The required Security measures taken further disrupt 'normalcy' (Rapture was effectively in a '''war economy - one like Britain or Germany had, instead of like a largely untouched American one). The Audio Diaries spoke of a 'Run on the Bank' which would greatly disrupt/interfere-with normal business/financial operations when the Citizenry became more cautious and afraid. Businesses failed and thus additional people could not pay others, and the disruptions snowballed. So it was NOT dissatisfaction with 'menial' jobs, but LACK of Jobs which gave Fontaine/Atlas easy some prey for his 'promises' - given to desperate people (that is assuming with some falling for that tactic, which many had got in their lives BEFORE Rapture). Since this is a Shoot-em-up game, no other solutions could/would be offered by the writers which might prevent their contrived dystopic situation which was required for the game's standard mass-slaughter behavior to be performed by the Player. --- --- --- Economic Distress (the Earlier Economic Depression or Recession) : ''' Apparently Rapture had a recession/depression in the early 1950s as the result of city construction largely ending. Caused by some job loss/readjustments, but large disruptions of money flows to all the things (directly and indirectly) involved in that construction business. As mentioned before there were fewer than implied unskilled construction workers and more had transfer skills, but there still would be a labor glut as the construction shutdown and the supply pipelines ceased. Crash - Do the same mechanisms operate in a Rapture microcosm (20000-40000 people)? versus a larger real system - like the American Economy ( 1930 census 123,000,000) ... ~3000 times larger. Its still largely a psychological effect that can exaggerate negative effects. Would there be less 'fluidity' in the financial market, so to disallow an equivalent of the historic 'Freefall' situation. 'Crash' - Would it be slower than in the real world - chance for recovery of partial value for investment (If people/institutions had learned anything from the unsecured/poorly secured loans in the late 20s which caused THAT "Crash"). Rapture would not regulate speculation, but would have to enforce protection via law measures for contracted 'Safe' investment. Lesson about speculation margins -: Sell-off terms 'margin call', bankruptcy/security conditions (a general public realization of the 'risk' involved, though stupidity can't be eliminated). - '''MONEY : Money supply - how is it run/managed ? What is the money in Rapture based on ? Specie Specie = valuable substance/item the money is made of or is officially held to back up the money - coins can be made out of precious metal ? Is the MONEY in Rapture value derived-from (and limited by) some precious metals ? Who issues money, and how much, and could the Money Supply fluctuate (inflation/deflation) ? Is there enough money in circulation that is 'backed' by something real? Value might be based on a basic utility power quantity - Rapture Dollars would ALWAYS be accepted as payment (kind of like Civil War Greenbacks (paper money) that were made acceptable largely because they WOULD promised to be accepted to pay all government taxes/fees). - ' BANKS' : Banks offer loans (middlemen who match up lenders/depositors and borrowers) but prefer to have some kind of contractual security (with risk costing a higher interest rate). Unregulated Banks offer risk to lenders for higher 'cut' - with lower chance of recovering on loan failure (even with borrower's security being surrendered). Many people who came to Rapture brought their life savings, which was used to pay for construction and converted to ownership in Rapture property (and converted to Rapture Money). Taxes would be low (a small uninvolved government paid via 'Use Fees'). Some stagnating properties (during economic downturns) may then be sustained with minimal expense, after most utilities are turned off/curtailed. Banks setup mortgages with security being specified (building/holdings owned by the Bank IF bankruptcy happens). - BANKRUPTCY : Companies can also be reorganized after going into receivership. Fire Sale acquisition of 'company' by a new investor who would be buying to utilize and reactivate. When a bankrupting company defaults, the Bank owns whatever assets the company had - tools/material (depending on the loans deal/contract). There can be only limited market in the Rapture microcosm, so there is limited production competition. This means if one company goes out of business, and what was produced is needed (strong market demand), then there is an opportunity to reopen/replace the business. The employees are likely still around and there is a high possibility that production could resume. Prices could go way up in a shortage, depending on the utility of/demand for the product. Rapture has few 'large' industries', and limited automated production - so restart of production might be not so complex. More small specialty companies (with multiple product sources competing). Less-demanded/less-needed (optional) products consumption would cease , while demand for basics (including services) would continue. - MARKET CRASH ? : How large could a city-wide credit bubble be ? How much credit was in play as a percentage of the economy ? "Let The Buyer Beware" should be a little better understood (the whiners in BS1/BS2 would really only have been a small minority, and few would join an 'Atlas' anarchist). Some people like Prentice Mill portrayed as 'wiped out', would actually still have been one of the richest men in the City, if even a fraction of his Ryan-requested 'Loan's were secured. (a bit of contrived BS there in that plot item - very little surface understanding of basic economics on the writers part). Stock Market (stock exchange) or more limited 'share' system as a scaled down Rapture-sized equivalent ? (less volatility...) Money doesn't disappear, credit does (money still available to be loaned, if the owner accepts the risk) Where does money go/wind up - people who have it will eventually spend it or invest it, but can become cautious when the investment climate becomes dodgy. Banks 'Savings' account customers get repayment from liquidated mortgages (and whatever other security required by the loan), and bankrupt company proceeds, so the saver's savings have at least some monetary recovery (perhaps alot, depending on what the loan security was). What size of non-speculative savings in Rapture ? (and how many people just save it in a deposit box at the 'Bank' as well as 'Safes' at home ??) A bank has to loan out 'saved' money to be in business - So what would those loans be for to be 'safe enough' in the customers minds ? - INVESTMENT : Investors expect high Payout for high Risk and understand lower Payout for lower Risk. I suppose Hephaestus Power (a classic utility) might be an acceptable investment, but the loans would go to expand the infrastructure and not have high interest (and not be limited as it is tied to city expansion and in economic distress the utility use declines). --- --- --- How many Part-time Artists/Scientists/Inventors/Businessmen did Rapture Have ? ' : You have to setup and work to 'produce' before there is a viable 'Product' to sell (and possibly never, or none for a long time). Starving artists is not just a 'quaint' phrase. Some 'hobbies' may develop to be more directly a second job/business with product/service able to be sold continuously (and eventually grow to be a citizen's primary work). Numerous 'kitchen table' inventors in Rapture... (many more than in the normal world, probably). How does this 'inventor' person live in the meantime ? Keeping an Ordinary Job and then the ''other thing is done in their spare time. Patronage is possible, but limited. Not everything leads to profit (a general misunderstanding by the game writers). There are other reasons someone gives patronage - so there IS a potential for all kinds of interesting things to be found/developed in Rapture. --- --- --- '''Alcohol Made Out Of Kelp ? Too much methyl (poisonous), and a bit low BTU for fishing boat fuel (but has various other uses ...) Kelp growing would have to be local, and maybe use electric semi-automated machinery. A Mini Sargasso sea near Rapture ? Except it is too cold, and storms make it float away and can wreck any tethers/anchors. Or there is too much deep water except in vicinity of the Mt Ryan sea mount Any starch (from foodstuffs) can be employed in making alcohol via fermentation, millions of people did during Prohibition. Gin (from 'Geneva liquor' of medieval fame) was such a generic booze made later easily from cheap materials, causing its price to drip and increase access and alcoholism (poor peoples booze). Wine is harder to make palatable than purified white liquors (quadruple distilled works even for vodkas made from horse turds - though I wouldn't suggest trying it ). --- --- --- Maryjane (Marijuana) In Rapture ... ''' : Its just a hemp-type plant being grown, and it doesn't take that much know-how (THC was weaker in those days than those stronger developed strains in our recent decades). There probably would be a commercial use for Hemp Fiber to make it more likely to be grown in Rapture. You didn't see an packs of 'Ganjas' laying about on your journey through those wrecked bits of Rapture. But in Columbia, in Shantytown ... (Opiate Of The Untermenschen). Little Sisters given a 'calming' smoke during their regurgitation ritual (Daily ADAM extraction) ... Ick. --- --- --- Price for a cheap boarding house in a major city around 1940. There are many fewer 'transients' in Rapture (a Microcosm Economy is something very different from your typical city). --- --- --- '''By the Mid 1920s, Movie Making Was the 4th largest Industry in America : Is that really so ? Steel, Coal, Railroads, Food, Electricity, Etc.. How is this use of the term 'industry' defined ? Perhaps in amount of money (profits) made - particularly for Exports ?? So might that be reflected in Rapture 2+ decades later and crossing over into TV ? Rapture would have fewer 'industries' (many items were originally made and brought from the Surface and so their producer may never exist in Rapture). So there's also fewer Advertiser dollars to chase after for that kind of thing. TV Show making (and station running) better be made ALOT cheaper for it to existing in any meaningful way in Rapture. A problem with TV is : significant advances can require mass replacement of TVs and of Camera/transmitting technology. Mass manufacturing is largely missing in Rapture, which causes such replacement to be more expensive/unlikely. Color Television was hinted at in Minervas Den DLC, but that would have require mass replacement (and a 'chicken before the egg' problem for mass manufacture to get the price low enough). Transmission in Color is a separate problem which would hold that advancement back. --- --- --- Were there Tariffs on Imported Items (Before Rapture's External Trade was Cut Off) : * If set TOO High enough, would give smugglers a large incentive. * If set TOO Low, would retard development of 'self-sufficient' businesses and production (if goods from outside are too cheap versus local production). * There probably was different charge levels for different item types (Luxury tax is good example, low for things like tech knowledge that might be critical to Rapture's future). * There would have been transport charges (Ryan would use his own transport resources for that to minimize exposure and to try to keep Rapture secret). Items vary in bulk, weight, and security provisions. Ryans transport was probably more cost-effectively done versus tiny smuggling submarines. * Tariff money would be spent on ?? (In the early days of America, alot of Government Income came from this source - as originally there was no income tax). There ARE some 'government' functions requiring funding : Constables, as an example, to be paid for. * What does Rapture have to Trade for the incoming goods? Ryan and likely other rich people still had money in the Surface World that could be used over time (Liquidating their worldly holdings slowly instead of a Fire Sale when moving to Rapture - possibly half of Ryan's World holdings still existed to be tapped into ...) * Citizens might be encouraged to bring critical items/materials in, which could never be produced in Rapture (raw materials like Tungsten you don't just Wave a Wand and suddenly have) to build up a '100 Year Stockpile'. Ryan would have foreseen the problem, and bought alot of such materials, once it became clear there was no local source or practical substitute. * Initial possessions and business related items might have been exempt (and smart immigrants might have brought as much as possible in with them -- they may even have been encouraged simply to to quickly help make the City livable). They WOULD pay the transport for such goods. --- --- --- Dissecting Fontaine's Bistro Menu Sign (BaSx) : * Plasmid-chilled wine 15c * Aspic Prawn Casserole 25c * Lamb with mint jelly 50c * Rehydrated Ham 30c 'Ala Carte' pricings (not a full dinner) ... "Ham" and "Lamb" implies farm grown foods -- too cheap here for it being 'smuggled', and implied as special/desirable instead of just 'made' in a industrial plant (artificial meat). With all the vegetation based food stuffs, feeding farm animals silage (at least as easy as producing 'Wine'), and byproducts (pigs will eat almost anything) would be far simpler/cheaper than any passable synthetics (something they can barely do today). "Prawns" from the usual source, and can even be 'farmed' using grown feeder foods - even employing sewage (as is done in the real world -- a fact which should horrify you when you are told). "Sinclair Shrimp - Cheapest in Rapture !!!" We can ignore the many stupid things in that DLC, and concentrate on what are likely prices for those items (in the real world, when in Rapture they probably should be somewhat higher). We might assume that the BS1/BS2 Vending Machine prices we saw were 'Chaos' prices (desperate people buying to survive and a wonder anything is left in any machine OR on the ground). That makes the ridiculous prices seen in Columbia in their vending machines so much MORE absurd, BECAUSE they are supposed to be in a NORMAL Societal state, which makes Vigors/'upgrades' costing a normal years salary quite strange and illogical. Seriously, they could have scaled down the prices (and loot) as part of the games period 'flavor' (its what they hyped - didn't they??). But I guess that inflated numbers in games is conditioned into Players these days ( ' "I looted this Corpse, and only got 12 cents ?? WTF??? ... STUPID GAME !!!" ' -- player being ignorant that 12 cents could buy you a pretty good meal in 'down below' 1912.) --- --- --- Craftsmen and Businesses in Rapture : Consider that anyone who had a Craft profession (going to Rapture) would bring their tools and critical materials with them (liquidating their worldly assets to do so). Immigrants would NOT be limited to 'a suitcase'. Thus the transport problem for the immigration would be of all the stuff people brought with them (many trips for Ryan's 'tramp' steamers). Likewise, there would be little mass-manufacturing for the consumers in Rapture (there not being enough customers), it being more 'crafted' short run items. So there WOULD be a huge 'Repair and Renovation' opportunity for businesses, instead of making any huge amount of new stuff. Rapture would get VERY good at repairing and recycling things (it being the most cost-effective methodology). Smugglers could only bring in items they could sell for top prices due to their limited capacities/opportunity and significant overhead costs. This would mostly be Luxury Goods for people who could pay. Small Subs can only carry so much, and running thousands of miles to anywhere (ex- 4000 miles to the East Coast US) costs significant effort and TIME. Difficulties are added because it is an illegal trade in Rapture : Buying off authorities, and keeping it sufficiently hidden - those further add to the overhead costs. There is also the reality that the Smugglers have to BUY the stuff ON THE SURFACE with SOMETHING, it not being Rapture CASH is something compact which has to be "Fenced" for a less than optimal value conversion (and eventually being of a limited availability IN Rapture). Early on, Ryan would have authorized ways to obtain needed materials and tools as a priority, to make Rapture's Self-Sufficiency possible. Specialized and critical materials example 'Tungsten' for light bulbs, that would be something that would be stockpiled (It is hard to get even in the Surface World). After he deciding to close off Rapture from the Surface, Tungsten would be a material that A GREAT DEAL of would need to be stockpiled for Long-term needs (possibly premade into filament wire on The Surface, as it is cheaper up there, than being done by some small/specialized company in Rapture). Even after the 'closing off', some critical materials/tools/knowledge would still be brought in (to make up for late discovered of shortcomings), all done while following strict secrecy protocols. --- --- --- HARD CASH in Rapture : Use of Actual Gold and Silver Coinage (Paper Bills is something else - a 'promissory note') : * Limits the money supply (which must be big enough for the economy) which eliminates Inflation. * Can't be used originally to pay for Raptures building (outside expenditures require Surface money) * Likely the same 'value' as the 'specie' backing it up (or why have it) - rarity vs utility value. * Prices still subject to adjustments (Rapture microcosm with possible collapse of specie value versus 'survival' material). * Subject to 'Hoarding' (lowering the available circulation money) * Who 'coin's the money ??? (The State usually did it on Surface, or contracted for it to be done to specific standards) * Standard conversion rate (who decides) ? * Counterfeiting a crime (substituting specie of lesser value), as is debasing the currency. What else would the Rapture money be based on? Paper 'Fiat money', if required, might still be based on value like acceptance for utility/Ryan-rent payments (to give it some value). New Rapture needs currency to facilitate resurgence of Rapture's civilization. (Problem of Gold/Silver Coins being numerous with large chunks of previous population being dead/) --- --- --- ( Rapture Financial Transactions ) --- --- --- Surface Investors > Surface Bank (Ryan's/Shell Accounts for building fund) > Rapture Property Immigrant's Real World Money > Surface Bank ' > ' Rapture Money(R$) (Sell surface assets, gradual conversion to liquid assets slowly to be sold off for max value) Money Reserves on Surface - used to Pay for Construction, Buy Materials, and Overhead Expenses Citizens Rapture Bank > Surface Bank > Purchase Outside Services and Goods transported to Rapture Private Possessions' (Surface) --- Transported > Possessions in Rapture Rapture-Made Products (Technology/ADAM Therapies) > Sold on Surface to obtain funds. Businesses providing products and services and paying for materials and labor and overhead expenses --- --- --- Rapture Money FLOW (Rapture Dollars R$) - including Surface Bank Xfer ''' --- --- --- Payments between Citizens for Labor/Goods/Services within Rapture (including utilities and rent) Purchases of Surface Goods to be brought to Rapture (especially critical material stockpiles/tools) Expenses of obtaining Industrial/Commercial information/research/knowhow/data - '''Worker Construction Labor (those 'poor' workers) > Rapture Money & Property (paid 'in kind') --- --- --- --- (Smugglers Transfers) --- --- --- --- Rapture Goods (with Surface-valued 'specie') > Fenced on Surface (at fractional value) '-->' Buy Surface Contraband Smuggled Contraband > Sold for Rapture Money or 'Services' ''' --- --- --- '''Different/Abnormal Costs For Things In Rapture : First - Valuation of the Currency - Consider that Rapture Dollars likely won't be a close match to (real world) American Dollars (US$). Prices for everything would be scaled to the Currency value (which itself might fluctuate due to state of Raptures Monet Supply. Cost Factors (after Currency Adjustment) : * Availability/Scarcity of materials and skill for production * Energy used in production/transport (efficiency of all associated processes) * Transportation expenses (for the product and all prerequisites) * Existing objects which might be repaired (need no be bought new so limiting SCALE of production) * Labor expense * Tax levels (in Rapture might be translated into Utility/Rent standards) * Competition adjusting all Costs and Prices(for material and is predecessors) - Supply and Demand Example : How much did a Ton (weight) of cement (a fundamental Rapture construction material) cost in 1947 ?? (in 1955? Post Kashmir ?) You cannot get/make Cement locally in Rapture, the materials are not available. (Aggregate for 'Concrete' yes, but not the Cement itself) Having to Transport it ( or one or more of its components) to mid North Atlantic would add much to its expense (after it is first transported to a mainland port and transshipped). Then Bulk shipment by freighter ... Then getting it DOWN to Rapture. Sourcing : Part of the expense to manufacture Cement was the energy used in the process which during the war was 'prioritized'. The materials were not that expensive, but came from limited locations to allow for the cheap (modern) mass production of 'cement'.` When Rapture was being built, right after WW2, commercial production in the US was increased, and cement use for the war effort largely went away. There was a building boom in the US and Rapture had to compete for that for the current supply. So all the direct and indirect expenses/overhead have to be included in a things 'cost', even before any profit is involved. An offset may be : Much Government taxation is missing in Rapture (not as much THEN as compared to today where government fees and taxes add upto a 50% total sap on the economy). The final target of 'Cement' is Construction, and there are other materials (ie Rebar) and processes with additional expenses involved. When Primary Construction in Rapture ceased, the Demand declined severely. Any company which MASS imported Cement would shut down that operation, and Prices of Cement may have increase via smaller 'specialty' importers (scale). When Ryan 'closed off' the City (in the early 50s) then ACCESS would have been limited - even if new Cement might have been a prioritized material (for repairs) the costs likely would be more than when Primary Construction was underway. --- --- --- . . . . Note how small these REAL WORLD shops are in such a huge REAL city. They would have 50 X more potential customers than in Rapture (or Columbia). Businessmen don't waste money on space they don't use/cant afford and constantly have to pay the overhead for. Economics does NOT work the way Artists (and fantasy writers) might conceive/expect it too. --- --- --- Market Saturation : ''' One thing that would concern me about the MMORPG's Player Object Fabrication (crafting) mechanism - You have these production/business niches that get saturated (in each Server World) by just a few Players (If they are allowed to go into Mass-Production) when the total number of effective Consumers are just a few thousand population. Different "Crafting" Formulas to create/fabricate such 'product' Objects within the game (and even the physical game items themselves) isn't the Problem, as hundreds of them can be added by Player Creators (over time). The Issue will be that too many people will try for the popular ones (ie- Producing Hop-Up Cola) and get nowhere because of the supply saturation (nobody/too-few buys theirs ...) , and then they think the 'Crafting' feature is as 'lame' as it is in most MMORPGs. Somehow the Players have to be spread out across the spectrum of producible products. Mass-production could be restricted by making the research/skill difficult (Real-Life assembly lines are actually quite complex to set up, and took decades of know-how to develop and have SUBSTANTIAL up-front costs) -- Leaving most Player's Fabrication to be on a Small Scale, and allowing viable duplication (multiple Players for same product) to produce for the available customer base (Players and NPCs). The non-Player NPCs WILL consume alot of consumer goods, and incorporating a 'wear' (wear-out) mechanism can justify alot of continuous consumption/repairs. (They just 'don't make things like they used to'. That Maytag Dishwasher in Kashmir still is running 20 years later ...) --- --- --- '''Economic Planning 101 : It is hard to think that anyone as experienced as Andrew Ryan would NOT plan to handle the inevitable stoppage of the majority of Rapture's Construction work. Particularly with his aversion to potential sources of Parasitisms. Planned transitioning of Construction workers on to other professions would be logical. (All else is Contrived Failtopia). Minimizing the number of workers which would have to stay in Rapture could also be done several ways : * He would have as much structural work done back on land (where it was the least costly and easiest) and have the result shipped to Rapture's location. Thus all THOSE workers wouldn't even know Rapture existed. * Alot of construction would be easier on the ocean's surface at the site, again with many workers NOT needing to go down to Rapture or know exactly what it was. (Shallow water with conventional divers is FAR simpler than deep diving work -- by a magnitude or two). The workers could largely be prevented from knowing where they are geographically. * Alot of interior materials and machinery could be built on land and shipped out to the Atlantic site. Only the workers doing the installations down inside Rapture would thus 'know'. Construction in-place - assembling and placing of buildings, installing and tying together utilities, detailing and finishing interiors, building the transportation systems -- those would be the jobs that would need to be done below - largely by highly-trained machine operators. * Workers Income (for those staying) going to things like their prepaid Residences -- so the Workers would partially be paid in property and own something that would save on their living expenses in the future. The money stays in Rapture - Ryan might have been rich, but it took much more than he had, and every way would be used to maximize what it bought. * As mentioned elsewhere, many of the 'workers' were more technical people, machine operators who's skills were transferable to other jobs. Many jobs would be repairing existing 'used' items in Rapture (when there was hardly any reason for a place so small to have assembly-line scaled industries producing most goods). * Retraining would be planned for as well. Consumer goods would increase as a requirement with the population. City Maintenance would increase after the initial construction. There would be many food related jobs like farming, fishing, harvesting and food processing for the ex-construction workers (and many of those would be technical/semi-automated, ie- hydroponics, conveyor belt factory systems, high density farming, etc...). --- --- --- Use of The Impaired and Convicts : There was an increasing number of ADAM_Addled people in Rapture due to the poisonous effects of Fontaine's products, which supposedly were sold enough to make him rich. The effects on the users apparently mostly WERENT psychotic rage - but would have lesser debilitating effect on its users (A reason also for the number of 'poor' starting to grow and cause problems). The Persephone Prison SHOULD have had a manufacturing wing to employ the Inmates so to support themselves. Prisons in the old days did that. Sanitariums and Asylums also tried to be self-supporting (I've added a Food Growing section to my Amended Persephone maps). Businesses might employ ADAM-impaired people to do the grunt work (ie- simple assembly) under supervision. The Persephone Prison SHOWED that it attempted rehabilitation, and that it served as the City's Insane Asylum/Jail. Sinclair would have been well positioned to make use of this Labor (ontop of his inmate 'Think Tank'). --- --- --- OFFICIAL Technology 'Leaks' from Rapture : Some of the inventions developed in Rapture were sold outside by Ryan's remaining World Organization to raise money to build "100-Year Stockpiles" of things Rapture would NEVER be self-sufficient in. * When possible, Ryan's people kept hold of the technology and sold 'the service' instead (which also helped to keep secret the source of the technology). ie - ADAM Therapies for Sick Rich People. * Some smugglers managed also to get some technology out (though most of the unsavory types the smugglers dealt with didn't want something not quickly converted to cash). --- --- --- Original Money Economy: Early Days of New Rapture (and in the Faction of Neptune's Bounty Fishermen before that...) : Citizen **Work --- -> City ('those who dont work dont eat' ) Citizen <--- Fish --- -- City Token Economy : Citizen **Work --- -> City Jobs & Maintenance Citizen <--- Tokens **City Citizen --- Tokens --- > Commissary --- Tokens --> City Citizen <--- Goods --- -- Commissary <-- Goods --- City Jobs Citizen --- Tokens --- > Citizen Citizen <--- Goods --- -- Citizen (spare time work making stuff) --- --- --- --- --- . .